Just finished hosting website, what next?

So I have just finished my first hosting website http://hammerhosting.com
And would like to get some tips on where I should go next. I know I need to drive traffic but how?

 

Sweet, not a lot of websites have music on intro anymore.

Well AveUGotaWkdSide, there are two kinds of traffic I'm going to discuss.

Paid Traffic and Free Traffic

This is essentially where most people get stuck because they just can't get the darn traffic to start flowing in.

Now, I'm assuming you have some throw away money for paid traffic and if you don't then skip ahead to where I discuss free traffic.

Paid Traffic

Paid Traffic can come from Search Engine Marketing which is also called Pay Per Click. Essentially what Pay Per Click is, is you are buying a spot to advertise either on the search engine's website or on another host's website (like AdSense) and you pay by the click.

The cost per click of your ad will vary depending on performance and by the keyword. The key here to spending as little money as people is to target long-tail keywords and to target ONLY long-tail keywords very closely related to your website, because I see way too many people just loading up random keywords that they don't need and they end up with a very horrible conversion rate on customers.

There is also paid traffic from other websites/blogs/forums and such where you would pay a webmaster to sponsor your link/ad. This can be in the form of text advertising or banner advertising. Prices may vary depending upon the traffic going to the site, the alexa rating, the page rank and it all just depends on the web master's set price for the site (which is often at times negotiable).

I honestly don't recommend paid traffic unless you're loaded because at the start it has a VERY steep learning curve and a lot of people lose all the money and more they put into it. Google Adwords however is still my favorite Pay Per Click engine to use for quality traffic and good conversion rates.

Free Traffic

Now while the work might be hard and grueling, it can be outsourced to others for a fairly cheap Price.

Me personally, I like doing it all myself to know the quality comes out amazing, but that's just me.

Free Traffic is traffic that you.. well.. didn't have to pay a single dime for and I will explain how to get it.

There is organic traffic which comes from ranking in the search engines for specific keywords. Keywords such as "hosting" "cheap hosting" and on down the list. People really under estimate the power of the search engine's traffic and in order to obtain a higher ranking for specific keywords, you need to..

A: Establish more back links to your website
B: Target bum-marketing long-tail keywords to easily rank high for less competitive but useful keywords.

So how do you get back links? Well a link inside of your signature is a back link. Back links are just like the street system.. If you're on Cherry Street, and you turn onto Apple Street, Apple Street has a back link from Cherry Street. It's pretty simple but some people get lost when I try to explain it to them.

You can achieve backlinks by, writing articles and submitting them to various article directories, social bookmarking your website, posting in relevant forums but the important thing is to include your signature (link) inside. This counts as a back link and potential extra traffic.

There are also traffic trading websites but I honestly have never found one that sent real traffic, instead of just people clicking on random ads to get more free traffic.

I hope that helps a little, if you need to know anything else, ask away.
​

 

Appreciate your inputs @ coreygeer - very well said.

I have tried traffic exchange site, and though it helps to boost hits to the site - unfortunately they don't lead to any conversions. Your requirement would be to get customers, and not just hits!

Thx

 

Congratulations on the new site. Looks professional.
It's a very tough market to enter. Will have to spend the dough to make it. PPC is your best bet, but it can be costly to convert.
One thing to ponder: Why would someone choose your service over an established brand which hosts millions of sites and offers same pricing?
Try to focus on niche, possibly local marketing?

 

Build backlinks to your site. I can help.

 

If you want to attract customers, then you need to give an option of free hosting as well. These free users may become your customer some day.

 

There is a reason. Site looked good with what I saw. The second the music started playing I closed the browser. Most people hate it as it's annoying.

 

Thank you for the info coreygeer, it will help alot. I have had mixed reviews on the the music. What should I do? keep it or get rid of it?

 

You can have a visible pause button, so who don't like it can immediately pause instead of closing your site.

 

I have a skip button and music on/off button

 

I would say off by default and let people who want to hear it click play.

 

Also think I will be looking for a partner to help to give a little more experience

 

Do you think I should buy some traffic, if so how much traffic would I need to buy to be effective?

 

I don't open your website (I hate music, lol), just general advices:
1. Join several hosting forums, some of them have a section where you can promote your service
2. Offer affiliate program whenever possible so you don't need to promote your business